Russian kidnapping in Ukraine: types and motives

Abstract

The purpose is to show the nature of Russian kidnapping during the Russia’s war against Ukraine, based on international humanitarian law and the existing source base. To single out its types and motives for its implementation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism and systematicity. The author intensively used historical-comparative, analytical, logical, and source research methods. Thanks to them, it was possible to select the necessary material for the first time to distinguish several types of kidnapping.

The scientific novelty consists in determining the types of kidnapping used by the rashists in the war against Ukraine. The motives of the Russian political elite, the armed forces, and civilians are highlighted, and the discrepancies in the numbers of kidnapped children and the methods of their assimilation by the Kremlin are indicated.

Conclusions. During the research, it was found that Russian kidnapping in modern war should be divided into three types: state, military, and civilian. Each of them has its own features and is used for different reasons on the territory of Ukraine. The state kidnapping is carried out in the interests of the Kremlin; military — for the Russian armed forces to achieve certain military successes in certain territories, for blackmail and intimidation of parents and the local population, and for financial enrichment; civil — in the interests of individuals who, by abducting Ukrainian children and moving them to the territory of the Russian Federation, hope to obtain material and domestic benefits by establishing guardianship or adopting the abducted children; family — due to the political motives of the family members.